Running board



May 31, 1932. G. F. CAVANAGH RUNNING BOARD Filed Aug. 30, 1930 u .w ww n L-I'Oirml O M W wmf E mm n. @www Patented May 31, 1932 n UNITE* STATES GERALD F. CAVANAGHQOF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE OHIO RUBBER COM IPANY, F CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF'OHIO f.

RUNNING, BOARD Application nea August so, leso. seriai NQ'. 478,968.'

This inventionvr relates to running boards for vehicles and thelike, andl'more particularly `to an improved form offrunningboard of lcomposite steel and rubber construction.

It is an object ofthe present'inventionto f provide an improved marginal inish,'cover,

or binding construction for devices of this character.

. VTAnother object is yto provide improved i V meansgfor'securing the cover strip iii-posi-y tion on the running board after the rubber covering thereoffhas been applied by mold- 1iong and vulcanizationito therunning board Further objects of the invention are yto simplify and improve the construction, assembly, appearance and; durability of devices of this character, and to render the same yeconomical in manufacture. ,p

f Other objects and features of `Vnovelty will be apparent Vas the following description proceeds, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, in which the Vpreferred embodiment of the invention is illustratedin connection with the type of steel and rubber construction disclosed and claimed in the Y copending application of Budd Bronson, Serial No. 241,771, .filed December 22, 1927, 'for a composite steel andl rubberk article. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, as it is adapted to other composite steel and rubber constructions.

In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view offay running .board constructed according to my invention,

a part of the rubber `covering being shown broken away to reveal the metal body;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of thestructure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional elevation taken along the line 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4V is an end elevation of the structure shownin Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a detail section taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1; and

Fin: 6 isa detail sectional view on an enlarged scale, showing the bindingstrip secured to the front flange of the running board.

Referring more particularly to the draw ings, the running board bodyfis designated 10,

this body being formed from sheet metal by stamping the same into the shape illustrated. In forming this member Iprefer to use that type of sheetmetal which is known commercially as hot-passed steel because this mate? rial has an inherent-surface roughness or porosity by virtue of lwhich a desired uniform and permanent adherencebetween the Y,

rubber andsteel is obtained by some of the rubber of the covering being squeezed Linto the interstices of the metal during the vulcanizing operation'.` The body 10Vis generally rectangular-in shapeand they greater. central'portion thereofis depressed asat 11, which depression is adapted to receive the rubber covering. In forming this depression, the margins remain as upstanding beads,

there being a rea-r'bead 12, and end beads 13 and 14:. The kouter vedges of these beads are extended downwardly, vthus forming a de pending rear' flange 15, and depending end flanges 16 and 17. 1

At the front edge of the running boardbody 10, or in other words, along the edge thereof which "is most remote from the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle,r there is formed a down-turned flange 18 which, in the form shown, is curved along a fairly large radius,

yso that the flange is in the nature of a smooth roll. The end beads 13 and 14 are carried down along the ends of this roll so that the depression 11 in the body extends down over kthe flange V18.l

The body as described is covered with a non-metallic cover, preferably sheet rubber such vas that yindicated at 19, butit is to be understood that any suitable non-metallic material may be' used for thispurpose. This cover fills thedepression 11 andextends down over the flange '18; The body 10iV is preferably provided with a plurality of substantially uniformly spaced holes 20, distributed over the area thereof, and inthe molding and vulcanizing yoperation some of the covering material will extend through the holes20 and thus form rubber rivets 21 which assist in securing the covering to the metal body. The vulcanization of the rubber to the inherently rough surface of the hot-passed steel will give a very secure bond between the rubber and steel, which when reinforced by the rubber rivets 21 will insure the permanent attachment of the rubber covering 19.

In forming the running board body it will be noted that along the lower edge of the downwardly extending fiange 18,y themetal of the body is reversely bent, or in other words is bent upwardly with respect to the lower edge of the fiange 18, as is clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 6, to form the longitudinallyl extending, upstanding bead or shoulder 22. This bead is preferably made roundedin form to correspond'with the rounded beads 12, 13 and 14 and extends between the beads 13 and 14 so that the beads 12, 13, 14 and 22 together form a substantially continuous upstanding bead around the` metal body. It should be noted particularly that the bead 22 is spaced from the fiange 18 to provide the longitudinally extending groove 23therebetWeen, into which the edge of the rubber covering 19 extends. This groove thus provides a.V secure anchorageand protection for the edge of the covering which prevents the coveringv from being torn loose. f

Along the outer edge of the bead 22 the metal is extended downwardly to form the longitudinally extended marginal flange 24 which depends below the bead 22 and alsobelow the lower edge of the flange 18. At its lower edge the fiange 24 terminates in a marginal lip or fiange 25 which extends laterally beneath the bead 22, or in. other words,.ex tends inwardly toward the vehicle.

The rubber covering ofthe metal body does not extend over the flange 24 and. in running boards of this type having an exposed. portion along the front edge thereof, it has been customaryto coat this surface with lacquer or other finishing material. However, rsuch coatings of lacquer or other material quickly become chipped and scratched uponbe' kicked by persons entering the4 vehicle, aid not only mars the appearance of the finish but exposes the metal body tocorrosion. To provide the fiange 24 and the bead 22 with. a covering whichA will not readily become scratched or marred, and which will give the running board a decorative and finished appearance, I employ the binding stripor sheath 26. This binding strip is preferablyY constructed. of material whichY can be easily polished and vwhich does not readily become scratched, corroded or discolored, such as stainless steel coated with nickel, chromium or the like.

The bindingV strip 26 is applied to the ymetal. body after the rubber covering 19 has been secured thereto by the molding and vulcanizing operation. To enable the binding strip to snugly fit the bead 22 and to be permanently secured in place I construct thefsalne so that the upper portion thereof has a longitudinally extending curved fiange 27 which is hook-like in cross-sectional shape', as clearly shown inl Fig. 6, and which has substantially the same radius of curvature as the bead 22. Vhcn the binding strip is applied to the met-al base to which the rubber covering has been previously secured, the curved flange 27 is hooked over the bead 22 so that the free edge of this flange extends partway into the groove 23 and presses against, or into, that portion of the rubber covering which extends into the groove. By extending the edge of the rubber covering,.and of the binding strip, into the groove 23, it will be readily seen that these edges are not only concealed, but they are protectedagainst being torn loose from the metal body.

After the curved fiange 27 of the binding strip has been hooked over the bead 22, the strip ispressed flat against the surface of the flange 24k and is bent around the laterally extending lip 25. thereby forming the longitudinally extending hook-like clampingL flange 28 whichsecures the lower edge of the binding strip in place. n

In order that the upstanding beads l2, 13 and 14 may also have a decorative and finished appearance, and may harmonize with the bead` 22 extending` along the front edge of the running board, these beads are provided, respectively with binding strips 29, 30 and 31. These binding strips, which are applied to the metal bod after the rubber cove-ring has been Y secured ereto, are each formed with a curved-or hook-like lon itudinally extending fiange 32 which snugly its its respective bead s0 thaty the free edge of this flange extends partway into thedepression 11 of the metal body and presses into, or against, therubber cover` secured in the depression. From the curved ange 32 the binding strips 2S), 30 and 3l are extended down uponk the flanges 15, lfi and 17, respectively, so that the lower edges of the strips will be concealed by being clamped betweenthese flanges and those portions of the vehicle structure with which these fianges'cooperate.r For permanently securing the binding strips in place, theportions thereof which extend downwardly upony the flanges 15, 16 and 17 are shcared at spaced points to provide the lugs or tongues 33 which extend through correspondingly spaced openave devised, the binding strips not only gi vc the article a decorative and finished appearance, but protect marginal portions ofthe metal body from wear and corrosion, particularly the exposed front edge thereof. Furthermore, it will now be understood that the longitudinally extending groove along the of hooked over said shoulder and extended front of the metal body provides an anchorinto said groove.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflx my age for the edge of the rubber covering and for the edge ofthe binding strips, and also effectively conceals and protects the edge of these members.

While the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and `described in such detail as to enable anyone skilled in the art to practice the invention, nevertheless it will be understood that the invention is not limited' to the details disclosed other than as necessitated by the development l.of the prior art; but instead it will be understood that 'the invention embraces such embodiments of the'broad'idea as fall ywithin the scope of the appended claims, it being obvious that various changes may be made with respect to the disclosed embodiment without departing from the spirit of the ins vention. y n Having thus described my invention, I claim: Y

l. A running board comprising a metal body having a depending flange alongone edge thereof, said flange having an integral reversely bent portionfproviding a longitudinally extending groove, and non-metallic covering secured to said body with one edge thereof extending into said groove.

2. A running board comprising a metalV body having a depending flange along the front 'edge thereof and a shallow depression in its upper surface extending down into said depending flange, said flange having an integral reversely bent portion providing a longitudinal groove in communication with said depression, and non-metallic covering secured in said depression withV one edge thereof extending into said groove.

3. A runningk board comprising a metal body having a dependingy flange along the front edge thereof the lower portion of said flange being extended outwardly beyond its upper portion to provide a bead-like longitudinal shoulder, rubber covering secured to said metal body with one edge thereof extending along said shoulder, and a binding strip covering the lowerfportion of said flange and having the upper edge thereof hooked over said shoulder and engaging the previously applied rubber covering.

4. A running board comprising a metal Ybody having a depending flange along the front edge thereof the lower portion of said flange being extended outwardly beyond its Lipper portion, said flange being reversely bent at the junction of saidupper and lower portions to provide a longitudinal bead-like shoulder and a longitudinal groove, rubber covering secured to said metal body with one edge thereof extending into said groove, and a binding strip covering the lower portion of said flange and having the upper edge theresignature. 

